For the last two months I have been working out every day. I would alternate between a "hard " workout and an "easy" workout that consisted of half the sets of the "hard " day. I just recently started working out every other day. Since I've gone to the every other day schedule my workouts are much more difficult. I haven't increased weight or sets but it is harder to get through the workout. When I was on the every day schedule I didn't have this problem and I actually looked forward to my workout every day.

Isn't the conventional wisdom to work one set of muscles on some days and another set on others?  E.g., upper body on M/W/F, lower body on T/T/S.

cause its to hard......

I'm 46 and 6 months ago i started to work out again,the energy and overall feeling good kept me going back,I work out 4 times a week now and work dif. muscle groups and i do cardio everytime i go.
You have too let your muscles rebuild in between work outs ,if not you will continue to tear down and not build.
If working out every day works for you ,do it.
Just don't work the same muscles back to back.
And did any of you guys notice that everything in your body works better when you work out?

I've got his belly thing going. Tight 36" you know. Help!

Bunghole,

You shouldn't work the same muscle group two days in a row because the muscles need time to recover.  So, you might end up getting weaker.  You can work out every day using different muscles i.e. back one day, shoulders next day, legs next day, etc. but still you need to work in some days of rest.  Your body will just not be able to keep up unless you're on the roids.  BTW none of this really matters if you're just doing sissy workouts though :)

I guess it just depends on what you are looking for.  The norm is to work out every other day to give your muscles time to repair themselves as they tear and break down as you work out.  You really need to listen to YOUR body and do what it tells you to do.

When I was younger (10 years ago) I weighed 160 at 5"10'.  I wanted to add muscle to my frame.  I worked out twice daily, 2 hrs at a time, 6 days a week, rotating body parts and doing very intensive training on each part.  Within a couple of months I was up to 185 with 6% body fat.

If you are just looking to keep in shape you don't have to work out so intensely.

Now I'm back down to 165, in part because of a back injury but I'm getting back into it to help my son workout for football.

I go 2-3times a week. To about 10-15mins cardio then

1day = Chest and stomach and lower back
2day = Arms, shoulder and back
3day = legs and glutes

Then I eat whatever the hell I want. That's why theres Liposuction.

My motto on working out is, "No pain....Hey, NO Pain"

You don't get stronger while working-out.  You get stronger in the time in-between.  I've heard more then one personal trainer claim that you'll make good progress from working-out eight hours a day, every day.  Maybe if you're on vitamin S.  Give your body time to recover.z

If you want, I've got a good workout routine on Excel from one of the UCLA strength coaches that advances the intensity and duration of the workout with each quarter.  It sounds like you're a bit of a neophyte, so doing some elementary research would be good.  The majority of the previous postings are accurate.  If you want to workout everyday and are looking to increase overall fitness, you might want to alternate aerobic (e.g. running, swimming, biking, etc) workouts with anerobic (e.g. weight lifting) workouts.  You won't get body builder huge this way, but you will definitely improve your overall physical appearance.

All kidding aside, I use a treadmill in winter, too much snow and cold here for outside. I have six stations of universal machines for cable work outs, and interval train on a life cycle. Change out the muscle groups and keep a good hear rate for your age on the other. If you want to bulk that is one thing, tone is entirely another. You do not want to tear down and bulk up to tone. I would suggest you stay with the tone as it is better over all and easier to stay with.

I tried lifting weights a couple times, but they were to heavy [;D] [:D]

I'm  not looking to build mass, but what is the best way to tone muscle? Is the high rep / lower weights still the accepted method?

That's exactly what you want.

if i did i would have no time for ar15.com!

What is the best way to get as strong as you possibly can? can a small muscle be stronger than a larger muscle? or are strength and size increasing at the same time?

I'm doing the low weight/high reps thing. I'm more concerned with weight loss and moderate toning than building muscle. I'm just doing back, arms, and chest exercises and leg extensions. I'll let my cycling take care of the rest of the leg work.

I am also 46 and have recently begun weight training again, after doing so off and on since age 17.  One thing that I have found to be true, whether you want to gain bodyweight or lose it, is to keep your workout intensity as high as possible.  Select a target repitition goal and use the heaviest weight possible for that number of repititions.  For me, somewhere between 6-10 reps for 3 sets is optimal.  That may not sound like alot of work, but when the weight goes up, it gets real difficult real fast.  
Then vary your caloric intake to suit your bodyweight goals.  If weight loss is your goal, add cardio on your off days, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.  Heavy weight and high intensity will preserve as much muscle and strength as possible while the diet and cardio do their thing.  Just my opinion formed over 30 years.  

Hello!

The two most common reasons for lack of results are overtraining and poor exercise selection/performance.

People overtrain by not allowing at least 72 hours between workouts involving the same bodypart.  Note that things like sprinting are leg workouts so do them on the same day as your leg routine.

In general, your strength training sessions should last no more than 40 minutes with 20 minutes being preferred.

For strength gain without size, pick a weight that is 85-95% of your one-rep-max [1RM].  Most people can ususally lift this 2 to 5 reps.  This should only be done with experienced lifters as it is hard on your body.

For general strength/size gain, pick a weight that is 80-85% of your 1RM.  Most people can usually lift this 5 to 8 reps.  Note that the biggest correlating factor in strength is the size of the muscle's cross section.  The bigger the belly of the muscle the stronger the muscle.

For general recovery ability, pick a weight that is 65-75% of your 1RM.  Most people can usually lift this 8 to 12 reps.  This will enhance general lactic acid neutralization.  It will not "tone."

Repetitions of 200 to 500 reps will build muscular endurance.  Do bodyweight or no-weight exercises for this.

In general, no more than 3 sets of any particular exercise and no more than 5 sets for any body part (example:  Chest--3 sets of bench press and 2 sets of chest flyes).  Rest between sets should be between 25 seconds and 75 seconds.  Shorter rest will "fill-out" the muscle while longer rest will "bulk-up" the muscle.  You will need to use less weight if you choose a short rest time.

Usually the harder but less frequently you workout the better results you will have.  Remember, the key is progressive overload.  Doing 6 sets of 20 is like starting your car in 4th gear.

A popular "split" is to do the following...

Wk1/Mon:  Legs/calves (Legs)
Wk1/Tue:  Lats/Biceps/Rear Delt (Pull)
Wk1/Wed:  Chest/Triceps/Front & Side Delt (Push)
Wk1/Thur: (Rest)
Wk1/Fri:  Legs
Wk1/Sat:  Pull
Wk1/Sun:  (Rest)
Wk2/Mon:  Push
Wk2/Tue:  Legs
Wk2/Wed:  Pull
Wk2/Thur: (Rest)
Wk2/Fri:  Push
Wk2/Sat:  Legs
Wk2/Sun:  (Rest)
Wk3/Mon:  Pull
Wk3/Tue:  Push
Wk3/Wed:  Legs
Wk3/Thur: (Rest)
Wk3/Fri:  Pull
Wk3/Sat:  Push
Wk3/Sun:  (Rest)

Abs are done on Mon/Wed/Fri.  See how bodyparts cycle between 2 times a week and 1 time a week?Week 4 would look like week 1.  Wednesday is a "heavy day" where you would do negatives or descending sets.  All other days would be concentric only.

Rest at least 1 day a week, 2 days a month, and 3 weeks a year (or three 1-week rests).

Muscle "tone" is merely residual tension in the muscle due to posture, musculature, etc.  Whether or not you can see this "tone" is subject to the amount of bodyfat around that muscle.  There is no way to selectively reduce that bodyfat...you need to reduce your overall bodyfat and your body will select where it removes fat according to your genetics.

Adapted from Health for Life (http://www.healthforlife.com)

HTH,
James

P.S.  I highly recommend the Health for Life books.  Best exercise science out there...for athletes and body builders.

I think some "active recovery" isn't a bad idea. Do a heavy workout on one day, then the next day just do a very light workout to get the blood moving.

In lots of aerobic sports you need to be doing workouts _every day_. I used to race bikes. Six or seven days a week you had to be out there. Some of the days were just low gears and low speed, and the heavy days were alternated with the light days, but you had to be out there.

People often underestimate the need for recovery. It's important. Your body can take only so much, and if you push it past that you'll start going backwards, feel cranky and irritable, have trouble sleeping, and have a high waking pulse. If that happens just back off, and maybe try some other sport for a week or two.

I'm starting some exercise again after having a broken hand. (Don't every let that happen to you. Three and a half months in a cast or not able to do much.) I'm going to need several months to work up to the levels I used to do, increasing by maybe 10% per week. You can't just dive in (unless your 17).

......I agree w/you bung'hole(hear that beavis he said 'hole')it seems more difficult If I miss a day too.I too like the daily dose of endorphins,seratonin exercise creates.I'd rather have a bad day at the gym than NO day.Sometimes I break a "FEW" drenching sweats, sometimes not.The more I vary my type of exercise(ex.chest=flat,incline,decline,flys,dumbell presses,machines,cables,etc) the faster I notice strength gains,and get the good 'sore more readily. Your plan/workout sounds great,just change it up every 4 months or so.

Since everyone is talking about working out, I will add in my own.
This is the c-rock workout.  I try and stay within my plan.
covers most things needed to be fit and trim,
do this 3 times a week.

First 10 or so mins of total body stretcing
Use a stretching machine to help out.

Use a bar type machine to help in sit-ups. helps keeps form in good shape.
30 crunchies
30 with feet on ground.
30 for each side.

Then I do some Push-ups, mostly 10-15 at a time.  

Now I go and lift weights on the machines. I know the free ones are better, but I am always afriad I will do it wrong, or such.

3-10 of churls

3-10 on the lift-downs

3-10 on the row machine

3-10 on the millitary press

3-10 on the bench

2-10 on the leg lifts

After that
1-2 laps around the track, to loosen up

10 laps equal a mile.

Then I get on the cross trainer, and do 20-30 mins on that, 2 times a week. 1 day a week on the stairmaster

then 3-5 laps around the track to cool off, and then some more stretching.  

I also eat a orange or a bannana before I go work out.  

Its been helping.  Now I need to work on my diet, and eat better.  

c-rock